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DIY: Do It Yourself Post here to share or improve your wrench turning skills! All BMW E46 DIY tips, tales, and projects discussed inside. Learn to work on your car and know the right BMW parts you will need!

idle pulley aka deflection pulley for who was asking. I have the hydraulic system which im having a problem with.
I change my alternator this weekend and stripped the t-50 bolt in side the tensioner pulley. Does anyone know how to get this hydraulic system off?? Or have an idea of how to get the stripped bolt out?
I'm sure you guys know there isnt very much space with the fan out

I am trying to find the 32mm slim wrench and the pulley holder on line but I am not having any success. Can anyone help me out with identifying who I can get this from other than the local bmw dealership. I need to replace the idler pulley, but I cannot get the fan off.

I am trying to find the 32mm slim wrench and the pulley holder on line but I am not having any success. Can anyone help me out with identifying who I can get this from other than the local bmw dealership. I need to replace the idler pulley, but I cannot get the fan off.

Hi, as I said, I bought mine from bimmertools.com. It was a little pricey ($73), but they are really solid.

I am trying to find the 32mm slim wrench and the pulley holder on line but I am not having any success. Can anyone help me out with identifying who I can get this from other than the local bmw dealership. I need to replace the idler pulley, but I cannot get the fan off.

Easy alternative instead of buying the pulley holder:

Spray your fan nut with some lube if it's seized.
Take the wrench, place it on the fan.
Remember, reverse threaded.
Take a hammer, and tap straight down while simultaneously using your left hand to push the wrench clockwise.

I've always used this method, and 90% of the time I can get it within 1-3 taps. The other 10% usually requires a bit more lube and another dozen taps.
Be careful, hit it too hard and you'll be buying a new water pump(I've never actually seen someone do this... but it's possible)

ha no i do not but i got it off like right after i posted that. i just used an 11/4 wrench, yes, eleven/four wrench and a really long screwdriver. the screwdriver was used as a crowbar to hold the part of the fan with 3 bolts still while i loosened the fan nut. but after that, everything was very simple.

Excellent! Some of the guys use the two wrenches and others are lucky enough like you to use one wrench and a long screw driver. I tried the screw driver and couldn't budge it, so off to the two wrenches I went. Change water pump as well while you were there?

nah, it was alreayd 930 here when i started that little project, so i was just more interested in getting the tensioner changed out, but turns out im gunna have to replace that deflection pulley as well because both that and the tensioner pulley had gone bad. so i'll get that sometime next week probably. i have a few other minor issues to worry about for now.

My engine started making a loud whining noise at start up but would disappear when it warmed up. The dealer said it was the tensioners and wanted $1300 for the repair. I found this great post and it gave me the confidence to try the repair myself. I bought 2 new tensioners and belts from Autohaus AZ and a $15 32mm wrench at Autozone and did the repair myself in about 90 minutes. The engine sounds like new again. Thanks to E46Fanatics for saving me over a thousand bucks!!!

I ended up getting the mechanical tensioners. I drive the car about 10,000 miles a year so I figure I have another 7 or 8 years before I have to worry about this again.

If you have the non-hydralic version, you can not purchase just the tensioner pulley, you have to replace the complete tensioner & pulley assembly.

Get 11-28-1-435-594. It's the deflection pulley for the E46 316i/318i and is exactly the same as the M54 mechanical tensioner pulley. Dealers there in NA won't stock them since the 316i/318i weren't released there, but can still be ordered from Tischer for $37.45 (with some waiting time).